Tamdhu 11 Years Old 2007 Cask #DL 12766 (Provenance)

This is a Tamdhu single malt, chosen and bottled by Douglas Laing, an 11 year old release from 2007, drawn from cask DL 12766 and bottled at 46%. 338 bottles in all. Tamdhu, founded in 1897 by a group of blenders at Knockando on the River Spey, is famed for its sherry cask whisky. For decades its malt fed blends such as the Famous Grouse and Cutty Sark.

It was worked through onion stills for a rich Speyside spirit, then filled into sherry seasoned casks, the heart of the Tamdhu style. Maturation came in ex-Bourbon wood, with vanilla under the orchard fruit. At a youthful age the fruit is vivid and the sherry clear. Dunnage and racked warehousing on site gives a slow maturation by the Spey. Mothballed in 2010, the distillery was revived by Ian Macleod and relaunched in 2013. Sherry casks, both Spanish and American oak, define the modern Tamdhu. The name Tamdhu is Gaelic for little dark hill, and the architect was Charles Doig.

Bottled at 46%, it is rounded. The ex-Bourbon lends vanilla, honey and apple over the malt. A baked apple and a warm ginger lift it. It finishes rich, fruity and warming. This is Ian Macleod's sherry led Speysider.